Hendrix the parrot a hit at animal shelter

ANIMAL shelter employees were enjoying a rare quiet moment in the lobby when a yell came from a room designated for small animals: “Shut the f--- up.”

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Four employees looked at one another in confusion. Then the shriek came again.

The culprit? Hendrix, a blue-and-gold macaw who came to the shelter the prior month, surrendered by his longtime owner. The cursing only became louder after that late-May afternoon.

Chantelle Rogers, administrative assistant at the Forever Paws Animal Shelter in Fall River, Massachusetts, was tasked with writing a blurb to help Hendrix get adopted. She opted for honesty.

"If you adopt Hendrix, you're basically adopting Samuel L. Jackson,” Rogers wrote on Facebook, referring to the actor who is known, in part, for his delivery of profanity-laced dialogue in movies. “This bird’s language is not for the faint of heart.”

Her post only made people more interested.

Thousands of people shared the post, which got traction for its candor and its humor. The next day, the shelter received a windfall of about 60 adoption applications, prompting employees to close applications that day. One person was soon selected, and Hendrix’s new owner took the parrot home on June 21 after hearing the bird curse a few times.